Gandhar is the 3rd

svara Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...

from the seven svaras of

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

and

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

. Gandhar is the long form of the syllable ग. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Gandhar is pronounced as Ga (notation - G). It is also called as गान्धार or गंधार in the

Devanagri Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...

script.

Details

The following is the information about Gandhar and its importance in

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

: * Gandhar is the third svara in an octave or

Saptak Saptak means "gamut" or "the series of eight notes". It denotes the set of swaras i.e. Ṣaḍja (Sa), Ṛiṣabha (Re), Gāndhāra (Ga), Madhyama (Ma), Panchama (Pa), Dhaivat (Dha), Niṣāda (Ni), Sadja (Sa) which comprise a musical scale in I ...

. * Gandhar is the immediate next svara of

Rishabh Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain co ...

(Re). * The

of Gandhar is Komal and Shuddha. * It is said that Shadja is the basic svara from which all the other 6 svaras are produced. When we break the word Shadja then we get, Shad And Ja. It means that Shad is 6 and ja is 'giving birth' in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

. So basically the translation is : षड् - 6, ज -जन्म . Therefore, it collectively means giving birth to the other 6 notes of the music. So the svara Ga is formed from

Shadja Shadja is the first svara out of the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. Shadja is the long form of the syllable सा. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Shadja is pronounced as Sa (notation - S). It is a ...

. * The frequency of Gandhar is 300 Hz. The frequencies of the 7 svaras are also given below: Sa 240 Hz, Re 270 Hz, Ga 300 Hz, Ma 320 Hz, Pa 360 Hz, Dha 400 Hz, and Ni 450 Hz, Sa 480 Hz (Taar Saptak) ........ (and so on). Consequently, the Ga after the Re of 540 Hz (Taar Saptak) has a frequency of 600 Hz i.e. the double of the Lower octave Ga. * There are Shruti's of Gandhar. Previously the main Shruti, not only for Ga but for all the other svaras, was on the last Shruti but now it is considered to be on the 1st Shurti. For example, if these are the 2 Shruti's of Ga then, Previously this was the position of the main Shruti of Ga. ^ 1 2 ^ But now this position has become the main Shruti of Ga. * All the other svaras except Shadja (Sa) and Pancham (Pa) can be or but Sa and Pa are always Shuddha svaras. And hence svaras Sa and Pa are called Achal Svaras , since these svaras don't move from their original position. Svaras Ra, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni are called Chal Svaras, since these svaras move from their original position. Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni - Shuddha Svaras Re, Ga, Dha, Ni - Komal Svaras Ma - * Ragas from

Kafi Thaat Kafi () is one of the ten basic thaats of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the name of a raga (Kharaharapriya) within this thaat. Description Kafi thaat makes use of the Komal Gandhara and Komal Nishad. So basically it a ...

Asavari Thaat Asavari () is one of the ten basic thaats of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the name of a raga within this thaat. Description Adding a Komal Dhaivat to Kafi Thaat results in the Asavari thaat. Raga Asavari is full of ' ...

, Todi Thaat and Bhairavi Thaat have Komal Gandhar, rest of the

thaat A Thaat () is a "Parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term ''Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic Music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scale because t ...

s have Shuddha Gandhar. * Ragas where Ga is the Vadi svara - Raga

Kafi (raga) Kafi () is a '' raga'' in Hindustani classical music. It corresponds to Kharaharapriya in Carnatic music and Dorian mode in Western music Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande classified most ''ragas'' into ten ''Thaats''. Kafi ''Thaat'' is one of them. ...

, raga

Bageshri Raga Bageshri or Bageshree () is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a popular night raga, which is meant to depict the emotion of a woman waiting for reunion with her lover. It is said to have been first sung by Miyan Tansen, the celebrated ...

, raga

Bhoopali Bhoopali, also known as ''Bhoop'', ''Bhopali,'' or ''Bhupali'', is a Hindustani classical raga. Bhupālī, is a raag in Kalyan Thaat. It is a pentatonic scale (uses 5 notes in ascending and descending scale). Most of the songs in this raga are ...

etc. Ragas where Ga is the Samvadi svara - Raga Sohni, etc. * Hypothetically speaking, Ga is said to be the Gandharvas, Gandharvas as in, the three main gods,

Bhrama Bhrama (Sanskrit: भ्रम), in the context of Hindu thought, means – error, mistake, illusion, confusion, perplexity. But, it literally means – that which is not steady; and refers to error etc., caused by defects in the perceptive syste ...

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

were first created i.e. Sakar Bhrama (Sa) and then these three gods created Rishimuni i.e. Re and then

Gandharvas A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

were created for singing. Ga is made the acronym of

for showing the importance of the syllable Ga. * Gandhar is said to be sourced from the bleating of a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

. * Gandhar is associated with the planet

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

. * Gandhar is associated with

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

colour.

References

{{Reflist Indian classical music Musical notation Musical scales Hindustani music terminology Carnatic music terminology